Author: Ahmed Nazeer

Two women arrested in connection with the discovery of dead baby in Villingili

Two women have been arrested in connection to the discovery of discarded six month foetus in Villingili, found on Friday inside a Coast Milk tin.

Deputy head of police Serious and Organised Crime Department Inspector Abdulla Nawaz told media today that police had arrested a 30 year old woman from Noonu Atoll who was the suspected mother of the baby, and a 24 year old woman from Kaafu Atoll who was alleged to have assisted her deliver the baby prematurely.

Nawaz said that police were now examining the body of the 30 year old woman after she confessed to giving birth two days ago but was unable to tell police where the baby was.

The 24 year old had meanwhile confessed that she had assisted Shaira in delivering the baby prematurely, Nawaz said.

Abortion is illegal in the Maldives, although an unreleased 2007 by the International Planned Parenthood Foundation (IPPF) found the practice was believed to be widespread due to the social stigma faced by a woman bearing a child out of wedlock.

Nawaz said that police had also obtained information about the baby found dead in Male’ track swimming area in early May, and were seeking to verify the report.

This morning the body of a newborn baby boy was discovered in a park in Hulhumale’,  with underwear tied tightly around his neck.

Spokesperson for Hulhumale’ Hospital Dr Ahmed Ashraf said the baby may have died from asphyxiation because of the restricted air passage.

‘’When the baby was found the knot was a bit loose, but the marks on its neck shows that it was tied tightly around the neck,’’ Dr Ashraf said.

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Z-DRP faction files case against MDP with Anti-Corruption Commission

The main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has filed a case in the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) against the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), accusing the party of bribing opposition MPs to join the party.

A senior member of Gayoom’s faction of the opposition and former Deputy Leader of the DRP, Umar Naseer, sent a letter to the Anti-Corruption Commission stating that ‘’offering money to an MP to shift parties is nothing less than an act of corruption.’’

The letter alleges that former DRP Deputy Leader and MP Ali Waheed, who resigned from the MP today, was bribed with “millions of rufiya”.

Naseer called on the ACC to monitor the bank accounts of Ali Waheed, his friends and family to assure that there was no corruption involved in Waheed’s decision to join MDP.

Umar Naseer did not respond to Minivan News at time of press while MP Ahmed Nihan and MP Ahmed Mahlouf were unavailable.

Meanwhile, tomorrow night MDP has said it will hold a special ceremony during which Ali Waheed publicly sign with the party.

Ali Waheed has not officially confirmed his decision to the media, however, senior MDP officials have confirmed that it will happen.

Aside from Ali Waheed, two other DRP MPs will sign with MDP tomorrow night during the special ceremony.

A Z-DRP faction senior official also told Minivan News that Ali Waheed and Hassan Shujau, a DRP council member, decided to join MDP after they were offered millions of rufiya “and other assets”.

Hassan Shujau has been now appointed as the State Transport Minister, days after he decided to join MDP.

MDP Secretary General Ahmed Shah and Spokesperson of MDP Ahmed Haleem did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

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MDP recruiting spree includes DRP officials and supporters

President Mohamed Nasheed has appointed former council member of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), Hassan Shujau, as state transport minister, amid a recruitment spree that has netted the ruling party a number of senior opposition members.

Reports that Shujau and DRP MP Ali Waheed were planning to join the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) began circulating last weekend. The party confirmed Shujau had joined, although Waheed has remained silent on his decision, telling media that any political decisions would “be made publicly”.

This week Minivan News was told by a senior official of Z-DRP faction that both Ali Waheed and Shujau were to join MDP for an amount of money which is “so high that they won’t need to work ever again if they accepted.’’

Yesterday a special ceremony was held at the President’s Office to appoint Shujau to his new post, during which President Nasheed said that he was confident that Shujau had the capability to fulfill his responsibility as the state transport minister.

Nasheed also said he was pleased that Shuaju has made his decision to join the government and implement its manifesto after being affiliated with another political party.

Nasheed has also appointed Sheikh Gubaadh Abubakur, a former senior member of the DRP member and one time close ally of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom as undersecretary in the President’s Office.

After the government confirmed Shujau’s decision to join MDP, speculation has risen that Waheed would join as well.

Local media reports that a special ceremony is pending to mark the signing of MP Waheed, a move DRP Spokesperson Ibrahim ‘Mavota’ Shareef has acknowledged would be “a great blow” to the party.

“Ali Waheed is a rising star with widespread support, and it would be a great blow to the party if he were to leave,” Shareef said recently.

Meanwhile several opposition figures have begun criticising Ali Waheed for his supposed decision.

Local media reported that Z-DRP faction MP Ahmed Nihan had condemned Waheed and said that if he signed with MDP, “he is betraying those people who elected him as their MP.”

Leader of DRP Ahmed Thasmeen Ali told Minivan News that he did not believe Waheed would join the ruling party after running for parliament on a DRP ticket.

Furthermore, MDP confirmed that former Human Rights Commissioner of the Maldives (HRCM) Ahmed Saleem has joined the party.

“When I ran for the membership of HRCM, they issued a three-line whip to vote for me. They backed me when I ran for the membership of MBC’s board as well,” said Saleem, who was voted out of the position by the opposition majority parliament.

“I served the government for 42 years yet they rendered me unneeded. But MDP supported me even then.”

The DRP is currently riven by an internal political split as a faction loyal to former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom have sought to oust party leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, who has fallen out of favour with the party’s founder and ‘honorary leader’.

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Z-DRP claims texts of Gayoom’s illness from Dhunya’s number are malicious prank

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s faction of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has held a press conference calling on the public to be aware of false text messages circulated in the name of Gayoom’s daughter, Dhunya Maumoon.

Faction member MP Ahmed Nihan said the texts are being sent to different persons using mobile phone applications that can send texts under false numbers without the knowledge of the owner of the number.

“The texts say that Zaeem [an honorific for the former President] has fallen ill and is in a very critical condition.’’

‘’Since yesterday morning the persons who are doing this have been texting to different numbers using Dhunya’s mobile number, and people have been very concerned thinking that it was Dhunya who texted them,’’ Nihan said.

Nihan claimed the fraudsters “have been doing this either to mislead the public or to infuriate senior officials of the Z-DRP.”

‘’We don’t know who is doing this. The [ruling] Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) supporters re most likely to do things like that,’’ he claimed, “But considering the current situation we can’t say, it might even be someone amongst us.’’

Furthermore, Nihan called supporters of Z-DRP faction to clarify with senior officials if they received any sort of concerning text.

‘’We will try to identify those responsible for this and will take action against them,’’ he said, adding that Gayoom was currently in a very ‘’fit and healthy condition.’’

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DRP files case against Z-faction for using its logo and name

The opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) led by Ahmed Thasmeen Ali has lodged a complaint with the Elections Commission (EC) alleging that the party’s Z-DRP faction, led by former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, had misappropriated DRP’s name and logo to conduct unauthorised political activities, and requested the EC take action against the faction.

DRP Spokesperson Ibrahim ‘Mavota’ Shareef told Minivan News that the party’s real concern was not that the faction was using its logo and name, which DRP MP Nihan has claimed he designed and retained rights to.

‘’It is a much greater concern when people claiming to represent [the party’s] administration and claiming to work to protect the rule of law come out and start violating those laws,’’ said Shareef. ‘’If that is the case, the public might develop a habit of disrespecting the law, and the whole nation may be affected because of this.’’

Shareef explained that the public was “new to democracy” and the principles of it, and said that leaders needed to set an example.

‘’We might think this is very funny and that this is a joke,’’ he said. ‘’But it’s much more dangerous than we thought, and it has more concerns behind it.’’

Shareef said that all political parties should respect their charters and follow it, “for it is not Gayoom’s, Thasmeen’s or my idea.”

‘’Humans do not last forever, and neither does the person in the leadership position, but when people fade away there will be the charter left behind,’’ Shareef said. ‘’That is why people need to follow it, otherwise when the leader dies, the party will die with him.’’

Furthermore, Shareef said that if the country goes on moving in the same direction, “tomorrow one might take an oath and say ‘I am the president now, see I have more supporters than the current president, see all those people who come out for protests whenever I ask.’’’

MP with the Z-DRP faction Ahmed Mahlouf and Umar Naseer did not respond to Minivan News at time of press, while MP Ahmed Nihan was unavailable.

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MDP condemns PA Shareef’s appointment to Elections Commission

)The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has today issued a statement condemning the Elections Commission (EC)’s decision to appoint former Peoples Alliance Party (PA) Secretary General and Spokesperson Ahmed Shareef as the Secretary General of the EC.

‘’MDP believe that anyone appointed for any position at the Elections Commission shall be a person away from influence, independent, fair and a person that would not protect the interest of a specific person,’’ said MDP in the statement.

MDP said it regretted that the commission would appoint a political figure to the commission and condemned the action “in strongest possible terms.”

Former Spokesperson of MDP Ahmed Haleem told Minivan News that ‘’as long as Shareef is in that position, this country can never hold free and fair elections.’’

Haleem said if he remained in the post, it will cause to “violence following future elections as people to question the fairness of the elections.”

‘’He is a person definitely adapted to a political idea and he will have his own interest,’’ Haleem claimed. ‘’The Elections Commission is the commission that has to be most fair and independent.’’

He also said the new President of MDP Dr Ibrahim Didi “will do anything that he has to, to solve this issue.”

Secretary General of EC Ibrahim Shareef told Minvan News that he had resigned from his post in the PA earlier this month and “resigned from politics.”

‘’My position in PA then was not also a political position, it was more an administrative position and it was my job then, I worked there as an employee,’’ Shareef said. ‘’Now I am in a non-political position and I will work independently.’’

Shareef said he was “very confident” that his actions would not be those claimed by the MDP.

‘’I assure the people that my actions will not be like that,’’ he said. ‘’I will follow the EC rules and regulations as well as the constitution and other laws and continue my work sincerely.’’

President of Elections Commission Fuad Thaufeeq did not respond to Minivan News at times of press.

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Finance Minister walks out of negotiations with “politically influenced” youth

Finance Minister Ahmed Inaz yesterda  walked out of a meeting with several young people claiming to represent the ‘concerned youth’ behind the recent week of violent protests in the capital Male’.

Governor of Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) Fazeel Najeeb also attended the meeting.

The faction of the opposition party loyal to former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom have maintained that the protests over rising commodity prices were “youth-led”.

‘’I waited in the meeting until we could address the real issues, but they kept on criticising the government policy and some of the government projects,’’ Inaz told Minivan News. ‘’I did not want to have a heated political debate – we went there to negotiate with the youth regarding the dollar issues, not for a political debate.’’

Inaz claimed that the youth delegation included leader of the opposition-allied People’s Alliance (PA) sports wing, and two others he claimed were ‘’new political figures’’ created by senior party officials.

Inaz explained that government needs to find ways to increase its revenue.

‘’Currently 75 percent of the government’s revenue is spent on salaries. The government did try to decrease the salaries but other state institutions did not support the decision,’’ he said. ‘’There are other necessary things to do such as providing electricity, fix sewerage systems and supply water to those in need.’’

Spokesperson from the youth delegation, Mohamed Ahsan, said the delegation was unable to clarify information from the Finance Ministry as the minister left the meeting.

‘’However, the MMA officials were very cooperative,” he said. “We found out that the government have not been implementing the MMA’s suggestions to its full extent,’’ said Ahsan. ‘’The MMA clarified almost all the information we required.’’

He also said the finance minister “took it politically” because a PA member was present at the meeting.

‘’We have decided to recommence the protests, but due to exams we have temporarily delayed it,’’ he said. ‘’Once the examinations are over we will restart the protests.’’

A first round of negotiations held last week were described as “very upsetting” by the opposition’s Gayoom faction after the delegation accused President’s Office represenative Shauna Aminath of stating that the “political solution” to the country’s economic woes was the arrest for the former President.

Shauna did not comment on whether she had suggested Gayoom be arrested, and said the government was unable to officially respond to the delegation because it was unclear who they officially represented.

“We met with four people who claimed to represent youth,” she said. “They presented a piece of paper they said was a youth proposal, but there was almost no discussion of what was on it.

“They talked a little about youth unemployment, and the rising price of milk, cooking oil and petrol. They said that young people did not have enough money to pay for coffees or petrol for their motorbikes.”

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Adhaalath Party to hold elections to appoint leader and deputy leader

The Adhaalath Party has announced plans to hold its leadership elections on May 27, to elect its new Leader and Deputy leader. Currently only one candidate is running for each post.

Vying for the party’s Presidency is Sheikh Imran Abdulla, from Kolhufushi on Meemu Atoll, after incumbent Sheikh Hussein Rasheed did not put his name forward. The only candidate running for the position of Deputy leader is Dr Mauroof Hussein, a well-know religious scholar in the country.

Sheikh Rasheed confirmed he was not running for the party’s leadership, but said he did not have any particular reason.

The party said that any island with more than 15 members in the party is allowed to hold elections on that island.

”Time for voting is morning 8:30am-11am and afternoon 2:00-6:00pm,” said the party on its official website.

The Party also said that the two candidates appointed in the elections will hold the position for the next five years.

Current Leader of Adhaalath Party Shiekh Hussein Rasheed, who is also the State Islamic Minister, did not respond to Minivan News.

The Adhaalath Party – the third largest in the Maldives – is the sole remaining party in coalition with the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), and members of the party fill senior posts at the Islamic Ministry. Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari, the current Minister for Islamic Affairs, is also a member of the Adhaalath Party.

The ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) also held party elections and appointed a new leader and deputy leader of the Party.

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Criminal Court extends house arrest of MDP MP Adil

The Criminal Court has yesterday extended the house arrest of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Hassan Adil, out of concern that he could attempt to influence the witnesses and evidence if he was released.

Police have now concluded the investigation of the case and have sent it to the Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office last month. The Prosecutor General is yet to decide whether or not to try the case.

According to local media, MP Adil allegedly sexually abused a 13 year-old girl in a family he has a close relationship with before the incident.

Speaking to Haveeru newspaper, the victim’s father expressed concern that the case was still pending in the Prosecutor General’s office without being tried in the court.

As the matter is a child related case, the Court is likely to conduct the trial closed to journalists and the public.

So far the police and the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) have declined to disclose details of the case in the interest of the child.

Article 73[c]2 of the constitution states that a member of the parliament will be disqualified if found guilty of a criminal offence .

Adil was first arrested on April 4 and was released to house arrest after he was kept for 15 days in pre-trial detention. He was later released to house arrest where he remains.

Adil was a former Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) MP who jumped to MDP after claiming that his constituents wished him to do so.

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